Harbinger shelves takeover talks with Inmarsat

Shares in Inmarsat plunged yesterday on news that the hedge fund group Harbinger Capital had put plans to buy the UK satellite group on ice.

US alternative asset manager Harbinger released a statement yesterday saying it had suspended talks because the regulatory process could take up to 18 months to win approval for a deal.

It added that it “remains interested in acquiring control of Inmarsat and is therefore actively considering whether to pursue the relevant regulatory and competition approvals in order to be able to make an offer for Inmarsat in the future”.

Inmarsat confirmed talks had ended, sending its shares down almost 9 per cent to 466.5p.